


40 Days and 40 Nights (in Yavin)

by BatuuPrincess



Series: The Yavin Holiday Collection [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Facetime, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Long-Distance Relationship, Marriage Proposal, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:15:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23603668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BatuuPrincess/pseuds/BatuuPrincess
Summary: Poe and Rey navigate their longest stretch apart yet.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Rey
Series: The Yavin Holiday Collection [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1636381
Comments: 31
Kudos: 93





	40 Days and 40 Nights (in Yavin)

**Author's Note:**

> So I've had this planned for a while, but the long distance, FaceTime thing started to hit a little too close to home when the quarantine started, so I tabled it for a bit. Then I almost wrote the quarantine version of this, where Rey is self isolating in Coruscant and Poe in Yavin. Shout out to the lovely ladies of the Damerey Discord who very nicely suggested I stick to the fluffier, non-Coronavirus version of this. And rightly so!
> 
> This is very vaguely Easter themed, though it's mostly just pining (whoops). Hope you enjoy!

Rey blinked at her computer screen, eyes aching from the strain. If she could just get this final storyboard approved…

She stretched, sore muscles finding relief after far too many hours in the same position, the dark glass of her office window reflecting the motion back at her.

Dark glass? But wait, that would mean...

Her eyes found the time in the corner of the screen.

Well, shit.

8:53. Which meant she had exactly seven minutes to pack up, make it down 30 floors in the elevator, haul ass the seven blocks to her apartment, race up three flights of stairs, and sit down on her couch in enough time to make Poe believe that she hadn’t broken her promise to him. Which was highly unlikely. Or she could take his facetime call here and hope he didn’t notice she was still in the office. 

8:54. Option two it was. 

She searched for a wall that could impersonate the pale gray of her apartment to no avail. Everything in this damn office was glass.

Finally, she settled back in the chair, quickly put her hair in a messy ponytail, and slipped her blazer off in hopes to give herself a more casual look. Maybe if she leaned in close to the camera he wouldn’t notice…

She nearly jumped out of her skin when the laptop started ringing, her FaceTime icon bouncing on the bottom of the screen. Rey took a deep breath and smiled her best “I’m definitely at home right now” smile before hitting the accept.

Poe’s face appeared, handsome as ever with his dark beard and hair. She smiled at the sprinkling of wood shavings in his curls, swearing that she could smell that faint sawdust and varnish scent that he carried with him everywhere. 

“Hey,” she said, her face taking up the whole screen. 

Poe blinked at her, recovering a second later. “Hey Sunshine.” He squinted at the screen. “Wait a second, are you still at the office?”

Busted.

“I’m sorry, I lost track of time.”

He sighed. “You promised me you’d keep reasonable hours. And you know how nervous it makes me when you walk home this late.”

“I know, I know. We’ve just got another big campaign coming out, and I really am sorry. What if I promise to use the car service?”

His face settled back into a smile. “That would make me feel a lot better. Thank you.”

As much as she hated his meddling, Rey couldn’t help but find the protective streak a little hot. “So what are you up to?”

“I just got in from the workshop.” 

“I can tell,” she said, motioning to her own hair. “You’ve got a little…”

He looked at his own face on the video call. “Oh shit.” Shavings fell like snow as he ran both hands through the curls. “I didn’t have a chance to shower yet.” He looked at something offscreen. “Bee, no don’t eat that! Hold on.”

The sounds of him wrestling with the little beast filled the room, her heart giving a squeeze. It sounded like home. It looked like home, too, the now Poe-less screen filled with a view of her favorite couch and the bookcases behind it. Home. She sighed, trying to ignore her now-aching chest. 

Poe popped back onto the screen. “Sorry, I didn’t want her to throw up in the house again.”

“Oh no, has she been sick?” 

“That may have been my fault.” Poe gave a wry smile. “I left a stick of butter within reach on the counter yesterday.”

“Oh, Bee.” Rey smiled, the expression a little more watery than she’d been expecting.

At the sound of her name, Bee’s nose came into view, investigating the situation. 

“Back up.” Poe pulled her back so Rey could see her entire dopey face, tongue lolling in one of those silly dog-smiles. “There, say hi to mom!”

Rey swallowed thickly. “Hey, Bee!”

Bee gave her a bark before wandering off to find something more interesting.

“I swear she misses you,” Poe laughed, watching the dog do something off screen. When he turned back to her, his forehead immediately wrinkled in concern. “What’s wrong?”

Good lord, she was not crying over a dog while sitting at her desk on a Tuesday night. “I just miss you guys, that’s all.” It made no sense, she’d just left yesterday morning on the first train. But it would be a long one, probably the longest they’d been apart since they decided to give this thing a go. 

Poe’s face softened. “We miss you, too. Easter will be here before you know it.” Rey watched as his expression changed into something much more mischievous. “Speaking of, did you have anything good for Fat Tuesday?”

He was trying to distract her, and she loved him for it. “Honestly? I completely forgot. I think I had a salad for lunch?” It had been so many hours ago, she could barely remember. She needed to eat something. “Wait a second, why does this even matter? Neither of us are Catholic."

“Technically, no, but that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate Mardi Gras.” He wiggled his brows rather suggestively. In the background there was a familiar plastic clicking.

“Wait a second, are those beads?” She looked and sure enough, there were cheap plastic beads in one of his hands. “Those are! Is that the real reason you wanted me home? So I could flash you?” 

“I mean, I won’t pretend that it didn’t cross my mind.” His face was the picture of innocence. “And I did go all the way to the dollar store two towns over to pick them up…”

Rey burst out laughing. “You are shameless.” Poe simply shrugged on screen. “Well, ok then, let’s see it. Show me some skin, and I’ll decide if you’re bead worthy.”

She’d never seen him whip off his shirt so quickly.

The screen filled with Poe’s tanned and toned chest, the muscles honed over long runs and even longer days in the workshop. And right in the center, next to his heart, hung his mother’s ring, shining in the soft light of the living room.

“Do I pass muster?” She could hear the smile in his voice even though his face was out of the shot. 

She made a big show of mulling it over.

Poe’s face appeared on the screen. “Oh, come on!”

She sighed. “I suppose it will do. You earned a bead.”

“Just one?” he asked, incredulously. “All this,” he gestured toward his torso, “and just one bead?” He then proceeded to dump the whole lot over his head. “I earned these.”

Rey burst out laughing, the sound ringing through her office. Poe followed suit a second later, though he sobered quickly.

“I wish I could touch you,” he said, voice low. Rey shivered.

“Me, too.” 

“40 days and 40 nights, right?” He sighed. “That sounds like an eternity.”

It was actually a few more than that, but she wasn’t about to point it out. “We can do it. We found each other after 12 years, we can make it a few more weeks.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” he answered, but thankfully the smile had returned to his face. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“I should let you go,” Poe sighed, his face falling. “Text me when you get home?”

Her apartment wasn’t home, not really, but it was far too depressing to point that out to him. “Of course. I love you.”

“I know,” he said, earning a stern look from Rey. “I mean, love you, too.”

Three beeps and the call disconnected. Rey looked at her own face reflected back at her on the screen, trying not to cry.

Leia’s voice shocked her out of her self pity. “What are you still doing here?” she asked, popping her head into the office. 

Even at nearly 9:30 at night, Leia looked impeccable, her hair perfect, suit unwrinkled, and makeup fresh. 

“I could ask you the same thing,” said Rey, getting to her feet. There’d be no more work tonight, not with how much her heart ached to be home with Poe. 

Leia smiled, leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed. “You see, I run this joint…”

Rey laughed. “All the more reason to take off early and leave it to the underlings.”

“Ah, yes. My son’s brand of management. Sorry, we don’t subscribe to that here.” She waited for Rey’s laugh before going on, “But seriously, you almost ready?”

“Yeah, just packing up,” Rey replied, doing just that. She slid her laptop into the chic new bag Poe had bought her as a Valentine’s gift, adding a couple of the files on her desk. Just in case. 

Leia eyed her carefully. “Good. And taking the car service home?”

“It’s only seven blocks.”

“Let me rephrase that. You  _ are _ taking the car service home. Or that handsome man of yours will flay me alive.”

Rey rolled her eyes. Of course Poe had won over Leia. Not that it was hard; the older woman practically worshipped him after he designed all the furniture for Resistance’s big remodel two years ago. 

“I will.”

Leia gave her a patented L ook . “Forgive me if I don’t believe you and call them myself.” She was already pulling out her phone. “Give me five minutes and we’ll walk down together.” The next second she was gone, leaving Rey to shake her head in disbelief. There was nothing quite like getting strong-armed by the one and only Leia Organa-Solo.

Rey laughed to herself, and put her bag on her shoulder. One day down, forty-ish to go.

______________

Rey looked at the clock for what had to be the one-thousandth time that evening. 8:02pm. She did some quick math. That made it 5:02 in Vegas, aka probably too early for him to call. She sighed.

Her dad came over, rubbing her back slightly. “Why the long face, sweetheart?”

She had invited him over to Poe’s house ( _ her house _ , she corrected gently.  _ Their house.  _ Poe insisted she consider it both of theirs.) for dinner, which he ended up cooking while she moped, waiting for Poe's call. It was harder than she’d imagined being here without him.

It seemed to dawn on him at the same time. “Missing Poe?”

She nodded, accepting her dad’s offered hug right as she burst into tears. 

“I thought coming back here for the weekend would make it easier,” she sobbed into his shoulder, “but…”

“Oh, sweetheart,” he said, hugging her even tighter. 

“I’m sorry,” she cried, pulling back and wiping her face. “I feel like all I ever do is cry about how hard this is.”

Her dad rubbed soft circles on her back. “Hey, you’re allowed to. What you two are doing is not easy. It’s not supposed to be. But you’re doing it.” He kissed her temple. “And that’s how I know two are going to be fine. Because you’re willing to fight for this.”

That really set Rey off, her dad holding her as she cried in earnest.

It took her a while to catch her breath, let her sobs come down before she said, “Thanks, Dad.”

“Anytime, sweetheart.” He petted her hair affectionately as the iPad on the table started to ring, Poe’s smiling face appearing on the screen. “Ok, wipe your face.” He gave her a look of pity. “I think he’s gonna know you’ve been crying.”

“Oh, what the hell,” she said with a laugh and a roll of her eyes. She hit the accept button before the call disappeared. “Hey!” she said, in her most upbeat voice. She slapped a smile on her face for good measure.

“Hey,” he answered, wary. Poe narrowed his eyes. “Have you been crying?”

“Little bit.” She shrugged. “How is Vegas?”

For a second, it looked like he was going to press her further, but thankfully he dropped it. “Good. I have a meeting with Pottery Barn in like 20 minutes.”

“Oooh, Pottery Barn?”

Poe rolled his eyes. “Yes. I told them Sunshine doesn’t need a collaboration, but they wouldn’t listen. I decided it couldn’t hurt to listen to their proposal over a ridiculous dinner. On their tab, of course.”

“That would be one hell of a partnership,” she said delicately. She knew how much he hated Pottery Barn.

“Now you sound like Finn.” He said that like it wasn’t a good thing. “Oh, hey Uncle Ben.”

Her dad waved from behind her, accidentally on camera. “Hi, Poe.”

“Sorry, I should have mentioned I invited Dad for dinner.”

Poe’s eyebrows raised. “I hope he cooked.”

“Hey!” she said, all false offense.

“Listen, I love you dearly, but you have the uncanny ability to burn water. And I’d like to have a house to come home to.”

Her dad laughed behind her. Traitor.

“I am more than capable of feeding myself,” she insisted, though that wasn’t exactly true.

Poe knew her too well. “Postmates doesn’t count.”

“I’ll have you know that I prefer DoorDash.”

Poe laughed, as Rey turned toward her father. “Hey Dad, I’ll be right back,” she said, picking up the iPad and taking it into the living room. “Sorry, we’re alone now.”

Poe cringed. “So what are the odds your dad now thinks we’re having FaceTime sex?”

“High,” laughed Rey. “Very high.” She paused, sobering up. “But joking aside, I miss you.”

“I miss you, too. How many days?”

She sighed. “I think it’s like 15?”

“That’s nothing. We can do 15.” He paused. “So how’s Bee and the house?”

At the sound of her name, the dog in question wandered in to the living room, dropping her head in Rey’s lap. 

“I think she misses you.” Rey scratched at her ears, Bee whining slightly in agreement. 

“And the dress shopping?”

Rey tried not to roll her eyes at the memory of her five hours looking for bridesmaid dresses with Rose. “She cried six times in five hours. And we still don’t have dresses. She’s gonna come to Coruscant next weekend to look at the shops there.”

Poe laughed.

“No, no. You don’t get to laugh, Mr. 20 minutes in a tux shop and you’re done. You guys don’t know how easy you have it.”

“Oh, believe me, I do,” he answered, an easy smile on his face.

They made idle chit chat for the next few minutes before Poe’s face scrunched in annoyance. “Shit, that’s Finn. I gotta go, I’m late for pre-dinner drinks.” He gave an exaggerated eye roll to tell her exactly what he thought of that. 

“I love you,” she said, feeling every word of it.

“I love you, too,” he responded. “Soon, Rey. We’ll be together soon.”

“I know,” she said, and then he was gone, the three saddest beeps on the planet Earth alerting her that she was alone.

She bent over to kiss the top of Bee’s head. “You hear that, girl? Soon. We’ll all be together, soon.”

________________

Rey surreptitiously checked the time on her phone. 6:15pm. Damn.

“To celebrate!” said Leia, Rey looking up to find her holding out a glass of champagne. Rey accepted it. “To our victory.” Leia clinked her glass with Rey’s. “The first of many.”

Though it technically wasn’t Rey’s first client win with Resistance, this was by far the biggest, a multi-million dollar deal tied up three days early. As such, they were on Resistance Media’s private jet, heading back to Coruscant at 550 miles per hour. Too bad that wasn’t fast enough.

“To victory,” repeated Rey, taking a sip of her bubbly. It was the good stuff, more than she could in good conscience afford even on her Resistance salary.

Leia gave her one of those appraising looks. Uh oh. 

“Then why, pray tell, don’t you look all that excited?” she asked, taking her own hearty sip. Absently, Rey wondered if she always drank this fancy of wine. Probably. 

“I’m sorry, it’s just,” she paused, tapping the front of her phone. 6:20pm. Shit. “I kind of wanted to surprise Poe, but the last train to Yavin leaves at 7:20. I’m gonna miss it.”

Leia sighed. “Have I ever told you about how Han and I met?”

Rey blinked at the sudden change of topic, but she wasn’t exactly in a place to object. “No.”

“We both worked for my dad’s firm. He was a 35-year-old recently divorced graphic designer, and I was a fresh faced 23-year-old junior copywriter. Oh, we hated each other. He thought I was a pampered little upstart getting by on Daddy’s good name, and I thought he was a jaded old man in a dead end career. We fell into bed almost immediately.”

Rey couldn’t help but snort into her champagne.

Leia went on. “It was all very casual, of course. No feelings, just to get it out of our systems, you know the drill. But something like three months into it, we’re sitting at his kitchen table eating the pancakes he made for me and doing the Coruscant Times Crossword puzzle together and it hit me. Right in the middle of 17 down. I was going to marry this man.

“It wasn’t an easy road, and we had one hell of an adventure getting there, but I wouldn’t change it or him for the world. Even nearly 40 years later.

“What I’m trying to say, Rey, is that when you know, you know. And you look like a woman who knows.” She flagged down the flight attendant. “Let the pilot know we’ll be making a pit stop at Yavin Airstrip,” she said, in that way that brooked no argument. “Oh, and make sure there’s a car waiting to take Rey home.”

“Leia, that’s so kind,” she said, trying to keep her voice even, “but I can’t accept. It’s fine, really. I’ll just take the train in the morning.”

Her boss waved her off. “The morning before Easter? The train will be packed! And what is the point of having a private jet if I can’t change course on a whim. It’s my prerogative.” She hit Rey with another one of her looks, the one that made you feel like Leia could see your very soul. “Listen, I know my son was not very kind to you, and I’m truly sorry for that. But you’ve got one of the good ones now, so do me a favor and make sure he knows.” And with a motherly squeeze of her hand, Leia’s attention was elsewhere, giving directions to the flight attendant and heading up to talk with the pilot.

_ Make sure he knows. _ What could Leia mean by that? Of course Poe knew she loved him, she told him daily, sometimes hourly. 

Those words continued to circle her brain as they descended and landed, while the flight attendant handed her luggage and long after she was in the car on her way to Main Street.

When they pulled up to the front of the stately Victorian, the driver got her luggage out of the back and wished her a good evening as Rey took her first easy breath in months. She was home.

She practically ran up the steps, taking care to open the door as quietly as possible. There was nothing more she wanted than to surprise Poe, preferably with a kiss, but Bee had other plans.

The dog came running as soon as she was through the door, barking and doing that little happy dance she did every time Rey came home. Rey scratched behind her ears.

“Bee! What the hell. You gotta stop barking at nothing,” said Poe, rounding the corner. As soon as he saw her, he stopped dead in his tracks. “Oh. You’re not nothing.”

Without thinking, she dropped the suit bag to the floor, closing the distance in three running steps. She slammed into him with the force of a freight train, Poe taking a step back to absorb the impact.

His arms were around her a second later. “Holy shit, Sunshine. I wasn’t expecting you until--”

She kissed the next words right out of his mouth.

Now this is what she’d been dreaming of for the last month. The press of Poe’s lips against her own, the scratch of his beard on her cheek, the sawdust and varnish scent of his skin. Home at last.

It was a full minute before they came up for air, Rey smiling as she asked, “Good surprise?” 

Poe smiled wide, the crinkles out in full force. “Best surprise.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Now come on, you must be starving,” he said, dragging her toward the kitchen. “I’ve got some leftover spaghetti, there’s chicken that I’m pretty sure is still good, or I could whip you up pancakes?” He turned, cocking his head at whatever look was on her face. “What?”

The whole time he was speaking, Leia’s words from the plane were pounding through her head.  _ When you know, you know. _

And suddenly, Rey knew.

The words were out of her mouth before she could second guess herself. “Marry me.” 

Poe blinked at her for a second before breaking into another smile. “Ha, ha very funny. You’re starving, I’m feeding you, I get it.”

No, he definitely didn’t.

“I’m serious. Marry me.” When he continued to stare at her in stunned silence, she started to babble. “I know it’s technically been like four months, but I’ve known you practically my entire life and I love you and when you know, you know and I  _ know _ and--”

Whatever else she was going to say promptly flew out of her head as Poe kissed her, one hand coming up to delicately cup her cheek. 

“Is that a yes?” she asked when he finally pulled away. 

Poe laughed. “Yes, that’s a yes.”

She surged forward to kiss him again, only breaking apart so he could remove the chain from around his neck. 

“I’ve wanted to give you this since we were 18 years old,” he said, sliding the ring off the necklace. “I have to say, it was worth the wait.”

She was crying as he put the ring onto her shaking hand, the silver band sliding home like it was made for her. 

“Wait, isn’t this supposed to be for the wedding?” she asked between tears.

“Well, Dad has the diamond out on the farm, and we have much more pressing matters to attend to this evening.”

“Is that so?” She quirked up a brow.

Without warning, he scooped her into his arms, Rey laughing as he carried her toward the steps.

Dinner could wait.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!


End file.
